AP PHOTOS: Editor selections from Latin America, Caribbean

By The Associated Press
| on February 8, 2018

Photo: Eraldo Peres, AP

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In this Feb. 2, 2018 photo, a large doll representing sea goddess Yemanja is taken to the sea from Red River Beach in Salvador, Brazil. Thousands of Brazilians have flooded the city's beaches in the northeastIn this Feb. 2, 2018 photo, a large doll representing sea goddess Yemanja is taken to the sea from Red River Beach in Salvador, Brazil. Thousands of Brazilians have flooded the city's beaches in the northeast to pay tribute to the sea goddess and ask for her protection ahead of Carnival celebrations.

Photo: Matilde Campodonico, AP

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In this Feb. 2, 2018 photo, worshippers enter ocean waters singing, carrying a boat filled with offerings for the African sea goddess Yemanja at a beach in Montevideo, Uruguay. Thousands of worshippers come toIn this Feb. 2, 2018 photo, worshippers enter ocean waters singing, carrying a boat filled with offerings for the African sea goddess Yemanja at a beach in Montevideo, Uruguay. Thousands of worshippers come to the beach on Yemanja's feast day, bearing candles, flowers, perfumes and fruit to show their gratitude for her blessings. The celebration coincides with the Roman Catholic Feb. 2 feast day of the Virgin of Candelaria.

Photo: Diego Cartagena, AP

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In this Feb. 7, 2018 photo, a person carries his salvaged belongings from a flooded home near Cochabamba, Bolivia. Authorities in Bolivia say two people have been killed and one person is missing in a landslideIn this Feb. 7, 2018 photo, a person carries his salvaged belongings from a flooded home near Cochabamba, Bolivia. Authorities in Bolivia say two people have been killed and one person is missing in a landslide after heavy rains caused a river to overflow.

Photo: Juan Karita, AP

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In this Feb. 7, 2018 photo, people salvage bedding from a flooded home in Tiquipaya near Cochabamba, Bolivia. Bolivian President Evo Morales issued a state of emergency Wednesday in several regions that wereIn this Feb. 7, 2018 photo, people salvage bedding from a flooded home in Tiquipaya near Cochabamba, Bolivia. Bolivian President Evo Morales issued a state of emergency Wednesday in several regions that were worst-hit by torrential rains.

Photo: Carlos Giusti, AP

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In this Jan. 31, 2018 photo, Public Works Sub-Director Ramon Mendez, wearing a hard hat at left, works with locals who are municipal workers, from right, Eliezer Nazario, Tomas Martinez and Angel Diaz as theyIn this Jan. 31, 2018 photo, Public Works Sub-Director Ramon Mendez, wearing a hard hat at left, works with locals who are municipal workers, from right, Eliezer Nazario, Tomas Martinez and Angel Diaz as they install a new post to return electricity to Felipe Rodriguez's home, four months after Hurricane Maria hit the El Ortiz sector of Coamo, Puerto Rico. Coamo's city government relies on residents to tell it where damaged cables and posts are located, and uses hand-drawn maps to show homes that have power or need it, and the city updates the power company.

Photo: Leo Correa, AP

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In this Feb. 7, 2018 photo, soldiers and police officers stand next to three suspects, detained during a surprise operation in the City of God slum of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Police and military forces tookIn this Feb. 7, 2018 photo, soldiers and police officers stand next to three suspects, detained during a surprise operation in the City of God slum of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Police and military forces took part in a series of raids two days before Rio de Janeiro kicks off its world famous Carnival celebrations.

Photo: Leo Correa, AP

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In this Feb. 7, 2018 photo, a handcuffed suspect stands next to police officers during a surprise security operation in the City of God slum of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Police and military forces took part in aIn this Feb. 7, 2018 photo, a handcuffed suspect stands next to police officers during a surprise security operation in the City of God slum of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Police and military forces took part in a series of raids two days before Rio de Janeiro kicks off its world famous Carnival celebrations.

Photo: Silvia Izquierdo, AP

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In this Feb. 8, 2018 photo, friends of 13-year-old Jeremias Moraes da Silva, attend his burial service at a cemetery, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Children toss dirt on the coffin that contains the remains ofIn this Feb. 8, 2018 photo, friends of 13-year-old Jeremias Moraes da Silva, attend his burial service at a cemetery, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Children toss dirt on the coffin that contains the remains of 13-year-old Jeremias Moraes da Silva, during a burial ceremony in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Thursday, Feb. 8, 2018. Jeremias was walking home after playing soccer Tuesday, when he was struck by a stray bullet during a police operation in the Mare slum. He died shortly after being rushed to the hospital.

Photo: Leo Correa, AP

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In this Feb. 4, 2018 photo, people cool off in water during the "Escravos da Maua" block party, as part of pre-Carnival celebrations in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Block parties are filling the streets before theIn this Feb. 4, 2018 photo, people cool off in water during the "Escravos da Maua" block party, as part of pre-Carnival celebrations in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Block parties are filling the streets before the start of the city's over-the-top Carnival, the highlight of the year for many. "Escravos da Maua" translates as "Slaves of Maua."

Photo: Silvia Izquierdo, AP

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In this Feb. 3, 2018 photo, a woman wears plastic, yellow gloves on her feet as part of her bird costume during the block party "Maria vem com as outras," or "Maria, join the other women," in Rio de Janeiro,In this Feb. 3, 2018 photo, a woman wears plastic, yellow gloves on her feet as part of her bird costume during the block party "Maria vem com as outras," or "Maria, join the other women," in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Many women in Latin America's largest nation are doing exactly that during this year's Carnival celebrations, with block parties of all-female musicians, popular accessories with messages like "my breasts, my rules" and several campaigns to report and crackdown on harassment.

Photo: Leo Correa, AP

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In this Feb. 3, 2018 photo, revelers take part in the Perola da Guanabara street party at Paqueta island in Guanabara Bay in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Merrymakers take to the streets in hundreds of open-airIn this Feb. 3, 2018 photo, revelers take part in the Perola da Guanabara street party at Paqueta island in Guanabara Bay in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Merrymakers take to the streets in hundreds of open-air "bloco" parties ahead of Rio's Carnival, the highlight of the year for many.

Photo: Fernando Vergara, AP

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In this Feb. 6, 2018 Photo, Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos, front, and U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson arrive to hold a press conference after a meeting at the presidential palace in Bogota,In this Feb. 6, 2018 Photo, Colombia's President Juan Manuel Santos, front, and U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson arrive to hold a press conference after a meeting at the presidential palace in Bogota, Colombia.

Photo: Dieu Nalio Chery, AP

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In this Feb. 2, 2018 photo, children sit on their beds at the Foyer Notre Dame de la Nativite orphanage on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The State Department is being urged by a group of U.S. senatorsIn this Feb. 2, 2018 photo, children sit on their beds at the Foyer Notre Dame de la Nativite orphanage on the outskirts of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The State Department is being urged by a group of U.S. senators to pressure the Haitian government into closing the orphanage where several children being adopted by U.S. families have been victims of alleged sexual abuse.

Photo: Luis Gutierrez, AP

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In this Feb. 2, 2018 photo, Mexican businessmen Carlos Bremer, left, and Carlos Slim, second from left, and former U.S. President Bill Clinton react after Mexican boxer Saul Canelo Alvarez threw out the firstIn this Feb. 2, 2018 photo, Mexican businessmen Carlos Bremer, left, and Carlos Slim, second from left, and former U.S. President Bill Clinton react after Mexican boxer Saul Canelo Alvarez threw out the first pitch during the opening ceremony of the Caribbean Series baseball tournament in Guadalajara, Mexico.

Photo: Marco Ugarte, AP

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In this Thursday, Feb. 1, 2018 photo, parishioners dress a giant baby Jesus in preparation for "Dia de la Candelaria" or Candlemas Day, at the San Juan Bautista Parish, in Mexico City. According to ChristianIn this Thursday, Feb. 1, 2018 photo, parishioners dress a giant baby Jesus in preparation for "Dia de la Candelaria" or Candlemas Day, at the San Juan Bautista Parish, in Mexico City. According to Christian tradition, Candlemas marks Mary and Joseph's presentation of the baby Jesus in the Temple in Jerusalem. Candlemas is observed 40 days after Christmas, on Feb. 2. Catholics in Mexico celebrate the feast day by dressing their baby Jesus figurines in the finest threads and bringing them to their local church to be blessed.

This photo gallery highlights some of the top news images made by Associated Press photographers in Latin America and the Caribbean published in the past week.

In Brazil and Uruguay, worshippers went to the beach bearing candles, flowers, perfumes and fruit to pay homage to the African sea goddess Yemanja.

In the town of Tiquipaya near Cochabamba, Bolivia, people tried to salvage their belongings after a landslide triggered by heavy torrential rains killed at least one person.

In Puerto Rico, months after Hurricane Maria knocked out the power in most of the island, many people remained without electricity. But residents of the town of Coamo have taken matters into their own hands. They are restoring power on their own, pulling power lines from undergrowth and digging holes for wooden posts in a do-it-yourself effort to solve a small part of the United States' longest-running power outage.

In Rio de Janeiro, security is being beefed up as the world-famous Carnival bash begins amid a wave of violence caused by rival drug trafficking gangs. At least one minor was killed by a stray bullet during a police operation in the Mare slum. Also, women are mobilizing to fight harassment during Carnival, focusing on the question of respect amid scantily dressed female partygoers.

In Colombia, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson continued visiting countries in the Latin America region. In Haiti, the State Department is being urged by a group of U.S. senators to pressure the government into closing the orphanage where several children being adopted by U.S. families have been victims of alleged sexual abuse.

In Mexico, billionaire Carlos Slim, former U.S. President Bill Clinton and Mexican boxer Saul Canelo Alvarez teamed up at the opening ceremony of the Caribbean Series baseball tournament in Guadalajara. In the capital, parishioners dressed up a giant baby Jesus in preparation for "Dia de la Candelaria" or Candlemas Day.

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This photo gallery was curated by multimedia editor Dario Lopez-Mills in Mexico City. On Twitter @DarioLopezMills

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AP photographers and photo editors on Twitter at https://twitter.com/AP/lists/ap-photographers